Historic inn carries on

Chalet Suzanne, a popular place to stay and dine in Lake Wales, has kept its doors open while repairing damage from last year's storms.

September 8, 2005|By Kelly Griffith, Sentinel Staff Writer

LAKE WALES -- Not much is going to stop Chalet Suzanne.

Surely not the string of hurricanes that barreled through Polk County last year, operators say.

In 1931, the historic inn and restaurant in Lake Wales was born out of the can-do spirit of its founder, Bertha Hinshaw, a widow with two young children. Over the next 10 years, it became one of the most popular places to stay and dine in the area, drawing rave reviews in writing by Duncan Hines, of cuisine-creating fame.

A fire destroyed the place not long after the start of World War II, but Chalet Suzanne was rebuilt on a tight budget after the war ended. The inn and restaurant came to include five dining rooms, 30 guest rooms, an airplane landing strip, gift shop, spa, cannery and a small vineyard. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to operate as one of the area's premier spots to dine.

When hurricanes rolled through Polk County last year, Chalet Suzanne took a beating. More than 50 trees were downed, the roof was damaged, and the grounds were upended.

Repairs and renovations continue today, but they haven't stopped the inn, restaurant or cannery. The restaurant will close Sept. 18 for the last of repairs to the dining-room ceiling and will reopen at 5 p.m. Sept. 23.

"People have been very loyal in coming back," Ann Gaiser, a spokeswoman, said. "We've also had lots of new visitors."

The inn is just off of State Road 17, a designated scenic highway that winds from Haines City to Frostproof. Although roofers and workmen have disrupted some of the quiet on many recent days, the work has been needed, operators say. Finding the right crews to work on the historic roof was difficult, owners say.

Improvements or repairs include re-roofing, repaving the 70-year-old driveway and relandscaping the grounds, which are adorned with a variety of flowering plants.

Chalet Suzanne might be known best for its cannery, started in 1956 by founding family member Carl Hinshaw Jr. in his garage. Family recipes have produced soups and sauces such as asparagus-potato, seafood Newburg bisque, curry sauce, cajun gumbo and the signature soup, Romaine, which has a spinach/mushroom base.

The soups have been sold all over the world, even traveling to the moon with astronauts.

"The soup cannery is in production every day," Gaiser said.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, which includes six-course meals, starting at $59 per person.